Swindon homelessness charity Threshold is bringing back its annual Sleep Out next month, inviting the community to spend a night outdoors in solidarity with people facing homelessness across the town.
Sleep Out 26 will take place on Friday 20 February at Lawn Manor Academy, with individuals, families and groups of friends or colleagues encouraged to take part. The event aims to challenge stigma around homelessness while raising vital funds to support local people without a safe place to live.
Organisers say the event is designed to be welcoming and family-friendly, with a minimum age of 11. Participants will be able to enjoy hot food, meet others taking part and learn more about the realities of homelessness, while spending the night sleeping outside.
Lawn Manor Academy will host the event, providing a secure and accessible setting for the community to come together. Threshold says the partnership reflects a shared message that everyone deserves the chance of a stable and hopeful future.
Village Hotel Swindon has pledged to provide jacket potatoes in the evening to help participants keep warm, while the Rapid Relief Team UK will serve a hot breakfast the following morning.
Threshold says support from local businesses, volunteers and participants is central to the event’s wider purpose. Alongside fundraising, the Sleep Out is intended to spark conversations and challenge the misconceptions that can leave people experiencing homelessness isolated from the communities around them.
Figures highlighted by the charity show the scale of the issue locally. Nearly 1,000 people were homeless in Swindon last year, around half of whom were children. Almost 900 additional households were threatened with homelessness, more than double the number from the previous year, while overall homelessness rose by a quarter.
The charity says homelessness can affect anyone and often worsens the very issues that led to someone losing their home. People caught in homelessness frequently face overlapping challenges linked to health, trauma, relationships, addiction, poverty and life skills. The risks are stark, with people experiencing homelessness significantly more likely to die by suicide.
Threshold has received a £1,000 grant from Places for People to help deliver the event. As a result, all ticket sales and fundraising totals from Sleep Out 26 will go directly towards providing safe accommodation and tailored support for people in Swindon, helping them rebuild their independence.
Tickets and fundraising pages can be set up online. Anyone with questions or interested in volunteering at the event is encouraged to get in touch with the charity.
